11 People Arrested in Case of Mass Food Poisoning of Children in Tashkent Region Kindergartens

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In Tashkent region, 11 individuals have been taken into custody in connection with a case of mass food poisoning among children in local kindergartens.

As previously reported, in September of last year, several preschool institutions recorded cases of foodborne illness among their students. All affected children were diagnosed with “acute functional gastrointestinal disorder, foodborne toxicoinfection.”

A criminal case was opened under Part 1 of Article 257¹ of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which establishes liability for violations of sanitary legislation or epidemic control regulations.

The press service of the Supreme Court clarified that the defendants include 11 individuals, comprising directors and employees of multiple companies that supplied products to the kindergartens.

Among those detained are the director of Shark Milk Product LLC, R.O., the company’s founders and sales managers, the chief technologist and assistant technologist, as well as heads of other companies, including Governess Business LLC, Kinder Garden Group LLC, Innavation Outsourcing Service LLC, and Nishon Invest LLC. Also among the accused is a laboratory technician from Shark Milk Product LLC.

All defendants face criminal charges under Clause “b” of Part 4 of Article 186 of the Criminal Code, concerning the production, storage, transportation, or sale of products that do not meet safety requirements, intended for distribution or use, as well as under Part 1 of Article 257¹.

The court ordered pretrial detention for 10 of the accused, with one placed under house arrest:

R.O. (male, born 1985, Director of Shark Milk Product LLC)

S.S. (male, born 1985, Founder and Sales Manager of Shark Milk Product LLC)

F.O. (male, born 1990, Founder and Deputy Director of Shark Milk Product LLC)

A.S. (male, born 1987, Chief Technologist of Shark Milk Product LLC)

R.Kh. (male, born 1982, Technologist of Shark Milk Product LLC)

M.N. (male, born 1991, Assistant Technologist of Shark Milk Product LLC)

Zh.Kh. (male, born 1993, Director of Governess Business LLC)

F.D. (male, born 1993, Director of Kinder Garden Group LLC)

I.S. (male, born 2000, Director of Innavation Outsourcing Service LLC)

B.R. (male, born 1992, Director of Nishon Invest LLC)

D.K. (female, born 1997, Laboratory Technician of Shark Milk Product LLC, under house arrest).